The petition, filed with the state Supreme Court on Thursday, is the latest legal maneuver to arise from the group known as the “Hamilton Electors,” a movement aimed at blocking Republican businessman Donald Trump from the presidency by forcing an Electoral College deadlock.

On Tuesday, the Denver District Court dealt a blow to the movement, ruling that state law requires electors to vote for the presidential and vice presidential candidates who received the most votes in the state. Denver District Judge Elizabeth Starrs also ruled that the Colorado Secretary of State can replace any elector that violates that law.

In Thursday’s filing, the group’s attorney, Jesse Witt, argued that the state district court had no jurisdiction to tell federal electors how to vote, because the Electoral College is a function of federal law.

In response, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, asked the court to rule that voting for a presidential candidate other than Clinton was a violation of state law, and would create an Electoral College vacancy under state code that would then have to be filled.

In Thursday’s appeal on behalf of electors Polly Baca and Robert Nemanich, Witt argued that the court overreached in allowing the secretary of state to replace an elector that doesn’t vote for Hillary Clinton.

“The election code itself provides no mechanism for the removal of a presidential elector,” Witt wrote.
Witt said he also filed a motion seeking expedited review of the case, and hopes to receive a ruling before noon Monday, when the electors are scheduled to vote.

Statehouse reporter Brian Eason joined The Post from the Indianapolis Star, where he covered city hall for the news outlet's watchdog team beginning in 2014. Before that, he was an investigative reporter at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., and covered local government at The Leaf-Chronicle in Clarksville, Tenn. He graduated in 2009 from the University of Missouri with degrees in journalism and political science.

Conservation Colorado, a political nonprofit that advocates for environmental policies, spent more than $4.6 million -- a record for the group — to help Democrats take the levers of state government this month.

Denver police have increasingly focused curfew enforcement in Latino neighborhoods in recent years — with a special emphasis on Cinco de Mayo and other holidays — while other areas have seen much less enforcement.